Hera was already suited up and heading to the guild. Some of the guards noticed her and gave her a smile that she couldn't quite understand. Alex and Helena were walking along with her, but no one said anything. They were all double-checking everything and refreshing their minds about what they had. Hera was already seeing some of the problems that high-level explorers had. She already had way too many skills to remember and even more spells. To make sure she remembered everything, she opened her status.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hera Kingsley -- Role: Explorer Level: 25

Stats:

Strength: 68 Endurance: 68

Agility: 68 Charisma: 68

Intelligence: 68 Luck: 68

Mana: 33221/33221

Remaining attribute points: 11

Skills:

Passive:

Exponential Growth

Observe: Red sight 3

Treasure Map

Handaxe Combat 3, Chakram Combat 2, Wire Trap Style 2, Subtle Strike 3, Dorohla Style 2

Dodge 2, Run 3, Improved Stamina 4, Flee 2, Jump 2

Improved Regeneration 3

Ailment Mastery 3, Identify Ailment

Poison Mastery 2, Allergy Mastery, Naga poison 2

Earth resistance, Wind resistance 2, Water resistance, Sturdy Body

Shaper of Mana, Reinforced Mana, Mana sensitivity 2, Mana Recovery 4

Ancient language 2

Silver Lining

Nature connection

Active:

All in 2

Inspect 2

Hide 3, Sneak Attack 3

Weapon Maintenance 2, Weapons Rebalance 2

Etching 2

Medical Reference 2

Green Thumb 2

Chain of Command 2

Role Skills:

Local Guide, Private Room, Explorer's Map

Explorer's Assassinate

Explorer's Hunt, Hunter's Catalogue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since she got Daskka, she had a few new skills. Some extra resistances, including the [Sturdy Body] skill that lessened all types of physical damage. She also got the [Dorohla Style], the fighting style that Rris' projection showed Alex. However, she could only use it when Daskka helped her. The snake had a spell that allowed Hera to move her feet as if she was gliding on the floor. [Allergy Mastery] was very similar to her poison mastery, but it increased her spore field spell strength. The last of her new skills was called [Identify Ailments]. It was a simple way for her to understand the type of ailments affecting a creature without having to use [Observe]. At first, she thought this skill was mostly worthless, but after testing it for a while, she realized that it was much better than expected. Not having to rely on her [Observe] made her much more effective during the fights. She could tell what was afflicting each monster with just a glance, allowing her to stack her [Ailment Mastery] very quickly.

Her mana was another big improvement. She made her mana go from 10 to 30 thousand in just a year. This increase was even higher than Bonnie's. The researcher only had 28 thousand extra mana. It didn't seem like much, but the difference would be significant in the long run. One of the major things that seemed to be affecting that was Daskka. Hera and the snake shared their mana pool in a way. One could tell when the other was running out of mana, and they could pass their mana to each other. It was still something that Hera struggled doing, and even Daskka needed some effort to pass her mana to her owner. However, that also meant that if they were both tapped out, Hera could essentially recover a mana pool twice the size of her own, which helped a lot to increase her maximum mana.

Hera also took a moment to look through her spellbook. Unlike skills, there was no list made by the system with all the spells she had figured out. If there was something she created at one point but didn't write it down and ended up forgetting, it would be lost forever, or until she remembered the spell. At the moment, she already had quite the range. Her spell list was the following; Poison Spray, Grease Fire, Light, Blinding Flash, Stone Shape, Earth Wall, Wind Feathers, Poison Needle, Poison Rain, Flaming Poison Rain, Mana Burn, Spore Field, Emergency Healing, Paralyzing Bolt, Poison Control, and Selective Memory Filter.

The new spells she got during the last year were Mana Sap, a weaker version of the Mana Burn spell made by Ogryn. Instead of damaging someone, it was a way to force the target to lose mana without any pain, but it took a lot more mana to work, unlike the Mana Burn that used the target's mana to fuel the spell. There was also one called Ailment Trigger. It was a spell that could only affect a target once, and it will force a random ailment to occur. However, the spell tended to focus on the ailments she could trigger on her own. During some of the tests, she figured out that the odds of the spell activating an ailment that she didn't know was just under 10%. Otherwise, it would be one of the things that could happen with a different spell she already had.

Another new spell was called Slow. It would reduce the target's speed. The more mana was put into the spell, the bigger the effect would be, but increasing the area of effect would increase the cost of the spell way too much, meaning that unless the targets were close together, it wasn't worth it to try to hit more than one monster at a time.

Her last new spell was called Elemental Mote. It was a way to change her spells into something else by creating a small elemental sphere that would change the element of her mana. This was the spell that Bonnie had created and it worked great, but the problem was the cost. She had to fuel the mote with mana and change the element of a spell, and the amount of mana in the mote had to have at least the same amount of mana as the spell she wanted to change. In some situations, it wasn't even worth it, if not simply impossible. Each mote would last only up to ten minutes, and that wasn't enough time to recover all of her mana.

She also had the Embue Element spell, but that one was still incomplete. Every time she tried it, she would cause the monster to burn out its own mana until it died. There was something wrong with how the mana worked in the spell circle, but she couldn't figure out what. She even asked Ogryn, Helena, and Bonnie's help, but there wasn't anything they were able to do. By all effects and purpose, the circle she was using should be working.

Arriving at the guild, Hera saw Eridan by the entrance, "Hey, dad. Did you get the message too?"

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"Right, it's your first rampage. That happens in places that have too many humans from time to time. The MAZE starts spawning a bunch of monsters who will come down to attack the city. While that is going on, we lock the room so no one can enter or exit."

"Why is that?" Eridan asked.

"Honestly. I'm not that sure," Hera scratched the back of her head.

"It's because, during a rampage, there is a chance that any monsters can cross doorways. And if a monster kills whoever has the key, that monster can travel to a different room. If the monster is a bit more intelligent, it can open the doorway for all of its kind. That can cause problems since it would allow strong monsters to move unimpeded through the MAZE. That's why it's rarer to see big cities in the deeper layers. If we can't hold on, it could cause a massacre," Helena explained.

"Oh, really? I just thought it was about protecting what we built there," Bonnie said.

"Well, that too. Making a new city or outpost is expensive, not to mention we don't want people to get hurt."

Naka was already in the guild, as well as most of the guards and some of the humans who were passing by. One of the clerks asked for the names of everyone in Hera's party and made a note of it. After double-checking, she realized that everyone was already there. In order to make them all pay attention to him, the clerk climbed the reception desk.

"Ok, everyone. We are starting rampage protocols in 2 hours. Anyone who doesn't want to be stuck here until the rampage is over needs to go now. For the people who live in the city, the guild recommends that the low-level ones go to a different room, but it's up to you, captain. For those who stay. This is the third layer, so the rewards are 18 thousand gold, plus the contribution."

"I'll have a team talking to people here. We can work fast, but there are a lot of people in the city. Can we increase the deadline?" Naka asked.

"We can't. The first wave already came to attack us. This means we have only 3 hours to prepare for the next one. For those who are staying, since this is the first time we have had a rampage in this room, we don't know the type of monster we will have. Because of that, everyone gets a 2 thousand gold bonus. We also will be giving anyone who is a part of this a voucher for three hours in the A-heart rooms we have here. You just have to make a reservation within the next year."

After he finished speaking, many people left the guild, already heading out of the room. Only a bit over half the human population stayed here. That was just about 20 people. Hera looked around, a bit confused with the situation. Even if a rampage was dangerous, they shouldn't have any problems in a place with such strong dwarves, meaning that everything the guild was offering would be almost a freebie. However, she noticed some odd stares of anger aimed at the dwarves when looking around. Maybe people thought they couldn't make much money here. After all, they would be fighting alongside people whose average level is 30, while the monsters in the room were, at most, level 8.

A couple of minutes passed, and the clerks started to organize everything. They had a map of the room and started explaining that the monsters mostly appeared outside, but there were a couple of fish-like creatures in the lake. The amount and strength of said creatures was trivial, but this meant that they would have to divide their forces.

After the clerk spoke about the need for a line of defense by the lake, Ogryn, who was in the back of the room, spoke up, "We can make some fortifications, and I believe we should focus on having mages and people good at long-range there."

"The problem is the monsters outside are griffons. People who fight long-range could help us deal with the flying creatures," Naka replied.

"In other rooms, we always make balanced teams. It doesn't matter where they are. Rampages are unpredictable. Some monsters appear with odd mutations, and now that wendigos can also show up, we can't leave anything to chance. We'll also need to have shifts to cover the entire day. No point of defense can be empty at any point. When the monsters start coming, they won't stop. There will be no reprieve, no time to rest. It's an endless onslaught, almost as if we are fighting against a wave in the ocean. Also, I want to make a defensive line just outside the city between the farmland and the Wooly Plains. In some rooms, monsters come pouring out of dungeons, and since we don't know what to expect, we should be ready for anything. If the monsters destroy the crops, we can help you guys with supplies for a while," the clerk continued.

"Shouldn't we make a perimeter around the dungeon then?" Naka asked.

"It can work, but there is a wide area of farmland here. There is a possibility that the monsters can pop out in the middle of the field," the clerk explained.

While that was going on, Hera pulled Eridan to the side, "Dad, do you want to stay in a hotel for a couple of days? I'll pay for it. I know you are making furniture and this might be dangerous. Especially for someone on your level."

He smiled, "I appreciate the offer, and your dad might be old, but that doesn't mean he can't learn some new tricks. I have a few spells that can make walls and such sturdier, and I'm learning to make and maintain wooded weapons. The people of Boothudurn are not that well versed when using wood, and I'm sure some people have wood-based equipment. Besides, it's a good way for me to not think about your grandmother. Or I'll just make a mistake and end up meeting her."

"Dad!" Hera gasped.

"I'm kidding. I have no intention of getting killed here. My mother would whoop my ass if I died because I was reckless," Eridan chuckled.

"She would have to get in line. I would have my turn first," Hera scoffed.

"With all due respect. I would want a go after her too. I don't want the father of our savior to die for something dumb," Rutigan appeared behind the two.

"Can you say things like that while being a king?" Eridan asked.

"If I can't be the one who says something like this, who would be?" the king chuckled.

"I finished the count, my king," Fethy came close.

"How many?"

"22 humans, 75 dwarves," Fethy looked at Hera, "Oh, sorry. I mean 23 humans and 74 dwarves. I keep counting you as one of us, honey."

Hera smiled and spoke in an overly dramatic tone, "Oh, how could you? I thought you considered me part of the city? How could you betray me like that?"

Fethy chuckled, "Fine. 22 humans and 75 dwarves."

"Very well," Rutigan cleared his throat and spoke in a loud voice that allowed everyone to hear him, "As the king of Boothudurn, I wish to thank all who are willing to stay and defend us. I've talked to the craftsmen in the city, and we all agreed that you deserve an extra reward. Everyone who participates in defense of our city will receive an extra 20 thousand gold and can have one piece of equipment made by one of our best craftsmen. The ten people who gather the most contribution will also get another piece of equipment made by Kahala, our resident master Armorsmith. Anyone who is here helping us will receive those rewards. It doesn't matter your race or position in the city. However, to make things fair. I believe that Naka should be out of the competition for Kahala's work. After all, our captain is a bit stronger than most people here. You know what, let me add another thing. Among those 10 winners, at least five have to be humans. If there are more, great, but if the dwarves get the 10 first spots, only the first five will get something made by Kahala while the rest would be split amongst the top 5 humans."

With those words, the humans who still seemed unsure of being here got a renewed interest, and they all started to hear the plans with more attention. Hera gave the king a nod, understanding that he wanted to show his gratitude and that he wasn't trying to make something that would only benefit his people. Hera also was excited by it. She had seen Kahala's work first hand and could imagine what it would be like to have a piece of gear that isn't restricted by her own level.